Mingling is your top priority as a hostess—until a plate of pigs in a blanket slides onto your friend’s lap. If you plan to make the rounds with drinks or hors d’oeuvres at your next dinner party, these tips from Lou Coruzzolo, banquet assistant manager of Las Vegas’s Bellagio Hotel (which hosts events with more than 2,500 guests), will ensure steadier tray service.

Serve drinks on a round tray lined with a linen napkin to keep the glasses from sliding around.

Hold the tray in the center with one open palm, and keep your arm bent in an L shape. Keep your elbow close to your side and the hand with the tray extended forward. “If you use two hands, it forces your guests to serve themselves, and there’s a greater chance that they’ll knock a glass over because they’re not paying close attention,” says Coruzzolo.

When you lift up or put down a tray, bend at your knees—not your waist—to avoid tilting it.